Schwartz: Critics of Lions’ D don’t know what they’re talking about

Lions coach Jim Schwartz says he has no plans to change the alignment he uses on Detroit’s defensive line. And he says people who attribute the Lions’ rough season to that alignment are ignorant.

Schwartz told reporters today that he will not consider shifting from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense, and that he will continue to use the Wide 9 to give his defensive ends a leg up on rushing to the outside, and he doesn’t believe that makes the Lions any different from any other team.

Schwartz said the Lions have the right personnel for the defense he runs, and he sees no reason to change.

“You always have a philosophy and the philosophy is behind your player acquisitions,” Schwartz said. “You always have a plan for every player. You don’t just pull names out of a hat and say, ‘Hey, this is where you’re going to fit him.’ . . . We predominately play a Wide 9, but we play other fronts. I think it depends on the personnel, how we go through our OTAs, everything. We’re always working to look at and tweak. You never say never, but that’s our base front.”

The Lions’ defense took a step backward in 2012, but Schwartz isn’t going to blame the scheme for that. The blame, apparently, lies with the players.

On this one he’s right—it was talent, not the scheme that yielded so few sacks from the prior year…particularly Kyle Vanden Bosh, who got old quick. BUT, the part that is his fault is his stubborn resistance to make personnel changes when he knew KVB was done.

I don’t have no vested interest for or against the Lions, but Schwartz is totally right on this one. Detroit has the star players and key pieces in place. People forget how much aggressive defenses rely on the defensive backfield to keep the ball in the pocket until they get there.

Once the Lions shore up their secondary, people will forget there was ever any issue with their defense in 2012. However, in order for anything I just said to be correct, they must bring back Avril.

Delmas seems unlikely to return, but they should put a priority on that as well.

I’m a diehard Bears fan. I dont see where we have any reason to talk trash. Better record sure, but we missed the playoffs just the same. The front 4 of the Lions’ is surely not to blame for their problems.

larryboodry says:Jan 21, 2013 3:51 PM

lionsdraftguy says: Jan 21, 2013 3:32 PM

“Here comes the trash talk from Bears and Niners fans…..”

purpleguy says:Jan 21, 2013 3:53 PM

So if it’s not the system, it’s the players? Wasn’t the Lions D-line touted in pre-season as one of the best in the NFL? So this then is all the secondary’s fault? Sure, that’s the reason.

source7769 says:Jan 21, 2013 3:56 PM

a dee millner or jarvis jones would make people stop talking about schemes

Don’t change a thing! On defense, everything worked fine. Don’t get a running back or complementary receiver to Megatron either. Just throw it his way 20 times a game, every game. It’s not at all predictable.

Since your team always plays on Thanksgiving, this is what I’m thankful for. As long as you team is in the same division as mine, I never have to worry about a prolonged stay in the basement. That’s pretty much been your team’s home for the last half-century. So again, don’t change a thing!

Anyone who seriously takes Jim Schwartz as an authority on coaching… whether it’s D or O or STs… should have THEIR head examined.

Schwartz is lost, and we Lions fans are being forced to suffer through another period of denial… and poor results.

This team is to close to being good to waste in on 1 or 2 more years with Schwartz as HC. It’s truly a crying shame.

larryboodry says:Jan 21, 2013 4:10 PM

cadillacjosh says: Jan 21, 2013 3:50 PM

“lionsdraftguy-

I’m a diehard Bears fan. I dont see where we have any reason to talk trash. Better record sure, but we missed the playoffs just the same. The front 4 of the Lions’ is surely not to blame for their problems.”

While I wish the Lions would make a big change and go to a 3-4, he is kind of right.

Fans don’t know what they are talking about. So many people hear “Wide 9″ and think that’s the only thing the lions run and nothing ever changes play to play. It was the same thing when they ran the “Cover-2″. So many fans couldn’t comprehend that that was just a base defense and they did, in fact, run different coverages within that base.

That’s not to say some things shouldn’t change, and I’m sure the coaches would love to make some changes, but that comes with having better personnel so that teams can’t consistently run 3 step drops to wide open recievers

Why would we talk trash? We’re going to the Super Bowl!! Who’s got it better than us?????

dfeltz says:Jan 21, 2013 4:28 PM

“We didn’t have enough sacks this year,” Schwartz said, via MLive.com. “To be able to blame that on the Wide 9, the people that say that really don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Umm, doesn’t that sentence suggest that the Wide 9 didn’t produce enough sacks? If I didn’t hate this guy, I’d love this guy.

bodester says:Jan 21, 2013 4:34 PM

I am a Lions fan but I am getting very tired of Schwartz’s inability to accept or pass blame for anything. Linehan? No problem there, what are you talking about? Gunther? Defense is fine, you’re crazy. He might as well say the team didn’t make the playoffs because of the players, us coaches have nothing to do with that.

The front 4 IS to blame, when it consits of William Clay Ford, Martin Mayhew ,Tom Lewand and Jim Schwartz ….

countduku says:Jan 21, 2013 4:43 PM

Please continue on as normal coach. There is nothing wrong with going 4-12 for a team that many said had the talent to win your division. I enjoy having your team as the doormat to the division. Don’t change a thing.!!! How is this guy still the coach??

nomoreseasontix says:Jan 21, 2013 4:45 PM

You left out that Schwartz is a whiny idiot.
Don’t see how he has a job…

dabears2485 says:Jan 21, 2013 4:47 PM

If he asks too much, they might line up wrong on purpose. Those personnel acquisitions don’t include character checks. He has a toaster full of half effort guys. That’s the problem.

You can say what you want about the Lions, but the fact of the matter is its not the coaches fault! He is simply working with what he’s been given! Do you really think he wanted Broyles with the second pick over a cornerback? I personally think they should of took Jenoris Jenkins with the 1st pick and Richard Sherman with their 4th pick! If they take those players we have a legitimate secondary and we probably go 12-4. It was a set back season, but thats all it was a set back. I’d bet anyone, anything that they win the north if they address the secondary issues this offseason!

Probably the worst coached team in NFL. Remember the red flag incident on Thanksgiving. Remember the fourth and one inside the ten yard line. They went for it and lost ground when a field goal would have tied the game against Tennessee. That was late in the fourth quarter and Tennessee wan the game by three. The loss to the Colts was probably the worst coaching job I have ever seen. They made a hero out of QB Luck.

butkus54 says:Jan 21, 2013 5:19 PM

I think it is entirely fair to criticise the Lions defence given the way they played last year, and to tell those people who do, that they don’t know what they are talking about is a slap in the face to loyal Lions fans everywhere.
Whether its scheme, personnel, injuries, coaching or fill in your reason here, this team didn’t get it done on either side of the ball this year.
And the sad thing is there is nothing coming out of the Lions organization that gives the fans much reason for optimism about next year.
It’s going to take more than just changing the special teams coordinator and “tweaking ” the defence to get people excited about this team.

49erstim says:Jan 21, 2013 5:42 PM

lionsdraftguy…. Why would expect any different considering that you go out of your way to post something negativ in every 49ers article. Grow up!…nobody cares about your garbage city or franchise. The Lions have NO rivals. They probably think they do, but all those good teams you THINK of as rivals couldn’t name 3 players for the Lions if you spotted them Calvin and Stafford. What a joke

It’s obvious that the offense had much to do with the defensive struggles. It’s not like the d was constantly getting gashed for huge plays, their opponnents just enjoyed really good field position. Also the punter sucked big time this year. Something you can totally hang on the defense is it’s lack of turnovers, which contributes to the offensive woes. Really the 2012 Lions’ struggles are a “chicken or egg” problem.

Someone said Delmas was overrated, I disagree. The defense is much better when he’s in there flying around and making plays on the back end, and when he’s healthy he would start for almost any team in this league.

I don’t think it’s a wise move to get rid of Schwartz or Linehan just yet, I’d rather let Stafford develop a bit before trying to install another offense. It’s clear he can produce in this system, not sure what more you’d want from him at this point.

1oldpro says:Jan 21, 2013 7:30 PM

Schwart is an expert on someone not knowing what they are talking about.

Football is a team game and the secondary is so bad it hardly makes a difference if you play a Wide 9 or not. The secondary couldn’t cover my grandmother in a wheelchair and you simply can’t win games in the NFL when you let the other team pass in, over and around you all day long.

lionsplayoffs says:Jan 21, 2013 9:04 PM

Schwartz needs to knock it off with the arrogance. A head coach in his division got fired after going 10-6 with a superb defense. He was 4-12 with a crap defense. Just stop talking, please, at least until you start beating the Bears consistently.

lionsplayoffs says:Jan 21, 2013 9:11 PM

A quick look has me shocked that we had the 20th ranked overall defense. Were there really 10 defenses worse than the Lions’?